The distribution characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the surface sediments of Ross Sea and Drake Passage, Antarctica: A 192 congeners analysis

Zhaochao Deng; Xibin Han; Chunlei Chen; Heng Wang; Bingbing Ma; Dongdong Zhang; Zhichao Zhang; Chunfang Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111043

The distribution characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the surface sediments of Ross Sea and Drake Passage, Antarctica: A 192 congeners analysis

Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 May:154:111043. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111043. Epub 2020 Mar 6.

Authors

Zhaochao Deng¹, Xibin Han², Chunlei Chen¹, Heng Wang³, Bingbing Ma¹, Dongdong Zhang¹, Zhichao Zhang³, Chunfang Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Marine Biology and Pharmacology, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, Zhejiang, China.
² Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China.
³ Zhoushan City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan 316021, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Institute of Marine Biology and Pharmacology, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, Zhejiang, China; The Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin 541006, Guangxi, China. Electronic address: zhangcf@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 32174493
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111043

Abstract

A total of 23 sediment samples are collected from Ross Sea and Drake Passage to investigate the distribution characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Antarctic marine sediments. Over 51 kinds of PCBs are detected through exhaustive searches using multiple reaction monitoring system. The results show that the concentration of individual PCB congener and total PCBs vary greatly among sampling sites, ranging from not detected to 49.75 ng g^-1 and 3.77 to 246.86 ng g^-1, respectively. The average PCBs level in Ross Sea is ten times higher than that in Drake Passage. Two different homologues, hexa- and tetra-CBs, give high contributions to ∑PCBs level in most samples from Ross Sea and Drake Passage, respectively. Our results support that the marine sediments might be an important sink for PCBs. Besides, the biological pump and the primary productivity might be responsible for the distribution differences of PCBs between Ross Sea and Drake Passage.

Keywords: Antarctica; Distribution characteristic; PCBs; Sediment.

MeSH terms

Antarctic Regions
Environmental Monitoring*
Geologic Sediments
Polychlorinated Biphenyls*
Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polychlorinated Biphenyls